Volunteer needed at Oconaluftee

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting volunteers to help the park staff by roving the River Trail, Mountain Farm Museum and fields along U.S. 441 (Newfound Gap Road) and providing visitors with useful park information regarding regulations such as littering, disturbing wildlife and approaching wildlife

The positions will be available from late August until Nov. 10. Volunteers will be asked to rove four hours prior to sunset on the same day each week.

Volunteer rovers also informally present important information on the park’s history, wildflowers and the best areas for viewing fall leaf colors.

When elk appear in the fields along Newfound Gap Road, volunteers aid Visitor Use Assistants and rangers in traffic management as well as provide visitors with information on viewing the elk and their role in the park.

Interested persons will be required to attend one, 5-hour orientation and training session on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Oconaluftee multi-purpose room near Cherokee. To register for the training or for more information contact the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at 828.497.1904.